In a long-expected development, Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke has been officially charged with first-degree murder in the death of Laquan McDonald, according to a Tweet from local ABC news reporters.
This charge comes after a dash cam photo emerged of Van Dyke shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times last October. An Illinois judge ruled that Chicago has until this Wednesday to release the video.
As a recent tool from the Invisible Institute shows, discipline of all kinds for Chicago police officers, even for sustained complaints, is inconsistent and rare for certain offenses. But murder charges, especially first-degree murder charges, are exceedingly rare. According to The Guardian, this is the first such charge for an on-duty officer in 35 years. More details to come when the video is officially released.